Carlisle Resident Nathan Tidridge Publishes Book on Monarchy

Waterdown highschool teacher Nathan Tidridge has published a book on Canada's relationship with the Crown called Canada's Constitutional Monarchy.  Mr. Tidridge wrote the text in response to the lack of accurate resources on the role of the monarchy in our country.

The book is available at Pickwick Books in Waterdown.  Read the article featured in the Flamborough Review here.

Access his website http://www.canadiancrown.com/ to find information which compliments the book.  You will find information on the author, additional interesting details about the Canadian Crown.

Waterdown's Own Gord Anderson has Book Published on War of 1812

Gord Anderson, an accountant from Waterdown, Ontario, has published a book called Beyond the Great War.  The book, a historical fiction based on facts, is a novel for teens and highschool readers about the War of 1812. 

You can purchase the book at Pickwick Books in Waterdown Ontario.  Read the recent article in the Flamborough Review here.

New Online Resource for Literacy

I just added a new resource which is now featured in the resource section of this website under "Online Literacy".  It is a link to a website called The Power Of Reading. 

Once registered, students can write simple stories with the help of an adult where they become the main character.  Another part I love is that once the stories have been written they can be uploaded to the parent's Facebook account to share their child's story with all of their friends.
Check it out in the Resources section!

Best Practices for Silent Reading: An Article Summary

In 2000, the National Reading Panel published a report in an effort to identify "effective instructional reading approaches" and determine "their readiness for application in the classroom" (Report of the National Reading Panel, 2000).   As part of their research, the panel sought to answer the question:  "Do programs that increase the amount of children’s independent reading [such as D.E.A.R.] improve reading achievement and motivation?" (Report of the National Reading Panel, 2000).

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The report published by the National Reading

Panel was an evidence-based assessment of

the scientific research literature on Reading

and it's implications for reading instruction.
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Despite the extensive use of independent reading practices in schools across North America (Report of the National Reading Panel, 2000) the panel could not find any evidence to suggest that independent silent reading in isolation reliably improves reading achievement or reading skills. 

At the same time, there is also no evidence to suggest that time set aside for silent reading should be eliminated from instructional time altogether.  In a recent article by called Reconsidering Silent Reading (featured on LD Online, 2011), the author encourages educators to revisit silent reading programs and consider how they are both implemented, and supplemented with other activities, to increase their value to student reading achievement. 

Outlined in the article are some important classroom conditions taken from the book Revisiting Silent Reading: New Directions for Teachers and Researchers by Hiebert and Reutzel (2010) that will improve the practice of silent reading in classrooms.  Their suggestions include:

1. Allow students to select their own reading material. 
2. Students should be engaged in silent reading and remain on-task.
3. Ensure students are held accountable for what they are reading and understanding.
4. Silent Reading Programs should include time for interaction and feedback.

Allow students to select their own reading material. Reading material for silent reading activities should be chosen by the student, and students should be able to select from a variety of different reading materials and genres.  The material should be of interest to the child and be at an appropriate reading level.  This is especially important for struggling readers who tend to pick books that they are not capable of reading. 
Students should be engaged in silent reading and remain on-task.  Students should understand that silent reading time is time to practice their reading skills.  Over time, students should be working to increase their capacity to remain in silent reading tasks for longer durations, and should be actively working to improve specific reading skills.

Ensure students are held accountable for what they are reading and understanding.  Students should be held accountable for the time spent in silent reading activities.  The method of accountability should be quick, easy, and straight forward, and can even provide evidence of whether or not certain skills, such as stamina, are improving. 

Silent Reading Programs should include time for interaction and feedback.  Conversations and interactions between students, and between student and teacher should be encouraged, planned for, and supported.  While modelling good reading habits is important, engaging in DEAR at the same as your students may not be time well spent.  Engaging students in conversation about what they are reading may better support their developing reading skills.

For more information on how to support your students in your silent reading program, consider becoming familiar with Reutzel, Jones and Newman Scaffolded Silent Reading approach (2010). See Exploring Scaffolded Silent Reading, or Scaffolded Silent Reading, or this search results page.

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